Heart of Stone
by LoveandLearn
Summary: Bizzy and the Captain end up raising the child that Mark and Addison never intended on having so they go on living a carefree life. That works well until their daughter ends struggling to win a fight for her life and their guilt gets the better of them.
1. Chapter 1

Some people are simply not meant to be parents, or so they think. That was the case for Mark and Addison Sloan. They'd gotten married in college and they'd been together ever since and not once did they talk about having children. It wasn't something either party was concerned over. Their main goal was to get through med school and get through it together. After that, they dedicated themselves to being the best they could be. That served that well enough until just about half way through their first year of residency, the year that Addison got pregnant.

She was working on a specializing in obstetrics and gynecology and neonatology. Mark's focus was and always had been plastics, no one expected him to see the sighs but no one expected her not to see the sighs. By the time she realized it, it was too late for an abortion and she had no choice but to bring the child to life. But neither she nor Mark were ready for the responsibilities that came with a child. Without much thought, they pawned their child of on Addison's parents ensuring her a rich, privileged life that most children dreamed off. And they never looked back.

It had been six years since than, their daughter still in the custody of her grandparents. It never really bothered them, they'd visit every two or three year for a day or two and leave to return to a care-free lifestyle. The little girl they were her parents and never understood why they didn't care for her themselves. Everyone else she knew lived with her parents, not their grandparents. She was fascinated by her mother, the last time she saw her she was 4 and she remembered it clearly. She didn't look away from Addison for an entire two days although the woman wasn't all too warm with her. She'd never respond to 'Mommy' and she go ten minutes without snapping at the child. But Stephanie never care, she'd sit there and stare, not sure how long the dream would last. Her father was the same. He wasn't too great with children, he didn't know anything about them and couldn't bond with her if his life depended on it. But he was her hero, and she wasn't afraid to broadcast that fact. Two years had gone since she'd seen them or spoken to them but she's think about them every single hour or every single day. Her only concern was if they ever thought about her...which they can't say they did too often.

Mark and Addison Sloan were definitely not the ideal definition of parents. It's not that they didn't care for their daughter, it was simply that they couldn't care for her themselves. They were too busy for a child, too wrapped up in their own lives to make room for anyone else in their family. Addison's parent's were suppose to be a temporary solution, until residency drew to an end. But it had long been since they'd established their careers and they still hadn't looked back to the little girl that turned their lives upside down.

* * *

**_Flashback_:**

_Addison sat on a bed in an on call room. She was sobbing hysterically and nothing would be able to stop her. That's when Mark arrived, he opened the door and slipped into the dark room, closing and locking it behind him. He went and sat next to her, placing his hand just above her knee as he wiped away her flow of tears with his other hand._

_"What's wrong, babe?" he asked softly, not wanting to force her to talk about something she wasn't ready to talk about. She usually got this way after losing a patient. And she hated talking about losing patients, especially if they were infants or children. She's just keep it inside and cried, as if she'd lost her own child._

_Addison heaved for air while her tears continued to run down her cheeks. She couldn't stop crying long enough to say two consecutive words. Finally, after a few minutes of trying she managed to cut back her tears. "Remember what we were talking about?"_

_"We talk about a lot of things, Ads. You're gonna have to give me more than that." he replied with a small reassuring and supportive smile._

_"When I told you that I feel like I'm getting...bigger and you told me not to worry about it. And we came to the conclusion that I was just bloated because I haven't had my fucking period in 5 or 6 fucking months and we credited my stress levels for that...Remember that?"_

_"Yeah, I do. That was what? Like...two weeks go?" he answered. "So what? You're on it, is that it? Because that would explain why you're all hormonal and...crying."_

_"I'm not hormonal because of that. I'm like that because I'm pregnant, Mark. Which is why I'm hormonal." she explained, following the words was another sob begging to get out and another set of tears made their way to her eyes._

_"You're like 6 months pregnant?!" he asked in shock. There was no way she could be six months pregnant and retain the figure she had, there was no way they could go this long without noticing. It was no physically possible for a OB resident to not noticed her own pregnancy. "How? You can not be six months pregnant... you're suppose to be huge."_

_"Every woman is different, Mark. Some people get big beyond words, some put on a considerable amound of weight, some retain a slim figure with a huge bump and some barely show. I've see it before." she explained. Although she had to admit, she wasn't really in the mood to do much explaining. The only thing she wanted to do was hit her head against a wall for not being able to keep her legs together. "Which means 24 weeks by now and that's the latest I could have aborted. So..." Addison continued, still sounding like she was explaining the situation to a patient._

_"So we're having a baby?" he asked, wondering if she'd put some thought into what they were going to do to fix the mess they had gotten themselves into._

_"We could put her up for adoption." Addison suggested. "Or um, we could try to raise her ourselves I guess. I don't know...I don't have time for a kid. I can't take time off work, you can't take time off work. And I don't want her to grow up with a nanny or in day care all day but...I guess if we have no other choice."_

_"Her?" Mark asked._

_"I did an ultrasound on myself, okay?! I was in pain, I thought it was cramping and I wanted to see what the hell was wrong with my uterus. I was curious to know what 6 months of unexpelled uterine lining would cause. And it turns out...there's a heartbeat in my uterus and it belongs to a baby. It wasn't cramping, it was kicking. And yes, it's a girl."_

_"I don't want to put her up for adoption. She's our kid, no matter what. We are not ready now, we might me one day. And I don't want John and Jane Doe to be raising my kid instead of me. We need a temporary fix. Can't she just wait or something? Why does she need to come out?"_

_"She's a child...a baby, Mark. Not a dress at Neiman Marcus. We can't put her on hold and come back a while later and expect her to still be there. Life doesn't work that way. I'm sorry." she answered. She let out a breath and closed her eyes, pressing her head against her knees while hugging her legs to her chest. "My parents." she finally whispered._

_"What about them?" Mark asked, looking at her strangely._

_"We give her to my parents until our lives settle down a little, until we know we can handle a child. She'd be in the family, we'd be able to see her, know what's going on with her. We'd still be her parents...just very absent in that. And when we're ready we'll take bring her back and give her the life she deserved from day one."_

_"If we're ever ready that is." Mark mumbled beneath his breath._

* * *

Stephanie Sloan now lying in a hospital bed all by herself, not too sure what was wrong with her. She knew that she was sick but the fact that she was dying was beyond her knowledge. It was meant to keep her at peace, keep her from fearing the inevitable.

She had gotten used to doctors poking her and questioning her. It had been her life for months now. But she still had no idea what was wrong. She secretly dreamed that her father, her hero would come and whisk her away and take her to her mother where the three of them would be together and none of the previous problems would exist.

"Mrs. Montgomery..." the doctor started. "You really should tell her parents about this. Her condition is... I'm not sure how much longer she's got. They deserve to know to get some closure."

"They don't deserve to know." Bizzy answered firmly, looking over at her granddaughter who was watching the TV in the hospital room without a visible worry in the world.

"If you don't call them by law I am required to. You are legally only a temporary guardian. By law, they still hold all rights as parents."

Bizzy took a second to withdraw from the conversation. She took into consideration her granddaughter who regardless of their behavior, loved her parents. She'd always ask to hear stories, see pictures. She'd asked if she could speak to them on numerous occasions but was taught that her parents didn't have time.

"Fine, I'll call them tomorrow."

Bizzy wasn't in constant contact with Addison, hadn't been since she moved out. Every so often Addison would call to ask about her daughter but that had ceased recently too. The only connection Stephanie had with her parents was DNA, that was it. It's the only thing that bonded them.

Bizzy stepped back into her granddaughter's room. She acted casual, as if nothing was going on. She sat down on a chair beside the bed and went on reading the book she had brought to keep her occupied.

Stephanie looked away from the TV at her grandmother and asked, "What did the doctor guy say now?"

"Nothing, it's not important." Bizzy answered. She couldn't tell her granddaughter that she was dying. She couldn't crush a child like that. What she doesn't know wouldn't hurt her. "Stephanie, it's getting late. You have to go to sleep so I can go home. The Captain is probably waiting."

"I'm scared." Stephanie admitted. "I don't wanna be alone. I wanna go home with you. Please."

"You can't. You need to stay here. And I can't stay with you."

"Yes you can. Lots of kids have their Mommies with them over night."

Bizzy sighed, trying to maintain as much patience as she could. "Well, Stephanie, I'm not your mother." and she never let her forget that. She mentioned it to the child every chance she had, most times not even realizing what she was saying. She just said it to get it out of her system.

"I know." she whispered and looked away sadly. "Is she ever gonna come?"

"Who?" Bizzy asked, the question catching her off guard. Stephanie never ever responded to that comment. In fact, when that statement came up it usually signified the end of the conversation between the two of them. But this time she had to ask, she couldn't help herself.

"My mom." she answered, still speaking as low as she possibly could.

"What about her?" Bizzy asked stupidly, hoping that the child would just drop the subject.

"Is she ever gonna come see me again?" Stephanie wondered. "Cause I'm in the hospital. And when people are in a hospital everyone goes to visit them. I want Mommy and Daddy. I want someone to stay with me. I don't wanna be alone, I wanna be like everyone else. I want my Mommy." she paused and sniffled, "...And my Daddy."

"Stephanie... don't make this harder than it is, okay? Please." Bizzy begged. "I know you're going through a hard time understanding what's going on with you and understanding what's going on with your parents. But don't make this any harder on me. I've had enough for one lifetime."

Stephanie looked away and nodded her head in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll stop asking." she whispered in response. That was the day she gave up on her dream. No one was gonna come save her, she wasn't ever going to be able to lose herself in her mother's embrace. And dreaming about it was a waste of time, asking was a waste of effort. She was giving it. She wasn't going to fight anything anymore. At just six years old she'd given up hope, not knowing the fact that she doesn't have much left to hope for.

* * *

So obviously...this is the first chapter of the Maddison story I mentioned I was working on during the A/N for my last story. Been dying to post it but I still feel like sucks. Give me your honest opinion. If it sucks, I'll take down, fix it and post it all over again.

But seriously...be as honest as possible because I want this to be the best Maddison story I've ever written. All the other Maddison stories of mine suck. I'm just too attached to delete them.


	2. Chapter 2

Addison walked out of doors of the cafeteria onto a patio with tables and chairs arranged in a random order. Almost ever table occupied with people she couldn't name if her life depended on it. The one familiar face she saw was the same one she'd see first thing every morning and the last she'd see ever night, her husband. She smiled when he saw her and walked toward him to. He pulled the chair out and closer to himself when he saw her approached. She took a seat and took a single french fry from his plate, dipped it in ketsup and bit the edge off.

"I'm starving." she admitted.

Mark started at her blankly then to the unoccupied tray space on the table. "Why didn't you buy something to eat? Need money?"

"No." she answered. "I'm not really in the mood to eat."

"I will never understand how your mind works. You're starving and yet you don't have to yet..you're not in the mood for it. What's next? You've got to piss but you're just too lazy to move so you hold it until the next time you are by a bathroom?"

"Actually...I do that. Do you have any idea how much work goes into peeing? Walk to the bathroom, pull down pants/skirt, pull down panties, sit, pee, wipe, get up, pull panties up, pull pants up, zip, button, flush, walk to the sink, wash, dry and walk out.."

"Wow...you make everything so much more complicated than it has to be."

"Says you. Most of the time you don't pull off your pants, all you do is unzip. You don't sit so you don't have to get up. Most of the time you don't flush, sometimes you don't wash which means you don't dry."

"We have to aim." he argued.

"Mark, I'm your wife, I've walked into the bathroom after you. You don't aim. You just piss and hope it lands somewhere acceptable." she paused, raising her brow. "Or maybe you don't know what you're target is suppose to be. Let me clear that for you, it's inside the toliet...not everywhere but."

"No comments."

"I rest my case." Addison smile, chewing on the second half of the fry she had taken from him. Her cell phone began vibrating on the table. She reached out and looked at the screen, a frown appearing on her face as soon as she saw the name displayed on the caller ID.

* * *

Standing out in the hall, Bizzy pressed the phone to her ear and waited for her daughter to pick up assuming that she would. After 3 rings Bizzy assumed that she wouldn't answer and prepared to leave a voice message. But after 5 rings, Addison finally got to it. "Bizzy, can I call you back? I'm working." In truth she was sitting beside her husband, stealing fries from him while she was too busy chewing to notice.

"No, Addison, you can't." her mother replied firmly. "I promise not to take up too much of your time. There are just some things that by law you should know."

"Okay." Addison answered slowly.

"Stephanie is sick, Addison. She's got some heart condition and they've been unsuccessful in treating it. Doctors don't know how much more time she's got and they insisted that you be informed."

Mark watched all the color drain from Addison's face, tears pool in her eyes. She wanted to say something but couldn't, just sniffled slightly and nodded, not thinking far enough to realize her mother was on the phone and couldn't register her nod.

"Did you hear me, Addison?" Bizzy asked.

"Yes." she responded. A long answer would be impossible at that second.

"Alright then. Goodbye."

"Wait... how long have you know?" Addison asked, a long silence to follow. "Bizzy?" she looked at the screen of her phone to discover her mother had hung up. Then she looked to Mark, tears still present on her pale face.

"What happen? What did she want?" Mark asked.

"Stephanie's got a heart problem and her doctors say they don't know how much time she's got left." repeating the words, her voice breaking in the midst. "She's dying, Mark." A tear she'd been desperately fighting glistened along her cheek leaving a dark trail of mascara and eyeliner behind was evidence of it's existence.

After hearing his wife, Mark went into a similar state of shock. He didn't know what to say or what to think. At first he wanted to believe that he'd misunderstand what she said. But the look on her face made things quite clear. He had heard correctly, their daughter was sick and they were in a whole other state living their lives like everything was fine.

"How long have they know, how could they not tell us something like this sooner?" Mark asked, still somewhat confused from the sudden announcement.

"I don't know." she whispered, "She hung up on me. How could she call me to fell me my child is dying and then hang up on me? That like...Lesson number one in Things You Should Not Do 101."

"Okay, now you're making up random lessons in nonexistent classes." Mark replied. "She's just as upset as you are, maybe more so because she's more attached to the kid."

"First of all, I'm her mother! It's my kid, I pushed her out of me and I deserve to know her health status! And second, just because she's not attached to me doesn't mean I don't share some bond with her. I'm her mother..." she repeated. "I have to have some bond with her. I have to feel something toward her that no one else does. It's physiologically expected of me."

"Nothing is expected of you, Addison. Don't force yourself to make bonds that you can't go through with. Yes you're her mother, but let's face it. You haven't really been 'Mom' to this child, Ad. And I haven't been 'Daddy.' That was our choice, mistake more to say. And the older she got the harder it became to mend our relationship."

"It'll be even harder to mend it if she dies. I will not let her die...especially not while I'm across the fucking country. I may be a terrible mother, but I will not let my child die while I'm in a different state across the country. "

"Okay, we can fly to Connecticut tomorrow night after work for the weekend. We'd be there before dawn and go straight to the hospital. We'll talk to her doctor during rounds and see if there is something we can do to help. Sound good?" he asked, pulling his chair closer to her to allow him self to put an arm around her. She nodded softly before placing her head on his shoulder. "We'll do everything we can, Addie. I'll do anything for her. No mountain to high, no ocean too deep."

"I think you're a better father than we gave you credit for."

"I think that if you'd given yourself the chance, you'd be an excellent mother." he replied and placed a loving, supportive kiss over her hair.

* * *

The next morning Richard saw Mark and Addison side by side the nurses station, each with their own pile of charts beside them. They were going through the notes the overnight nurses had made on their patients before they had to go around for rounds. He cleared his throat and placed another chart in front of Addison.

"I know you don't practice pediatric surgery anymore but we need you to take a look at this case and see what you can do." he told her. She looked up skeptically at her chief of surgery and rose her brow. "Don't question me, Addison, just do it."

"Okay, fine." she agreed reluctantly, placing the chart at the bottom of her pile. Richard nodded, satisfied with his firm approach and walked away.

"You're dumping that off on a resident, aren't you?" Mark asked from beside her.

She looked away from the chart to him, smiled and nodded her head. "You know me too well."

"Actually...I taught you that trick. So don't go off pretending to be all cool." Mark replied. "You'd still be an amateur attending who did everything themselves. My way is so much better. You do all the big fun stuff, dump all the little pointless stuff and the slaves and you come with me to my office and I'll teach you anatomy like you never it could be."

"Was that a pick-up line?" Addison laughed, leaning her body into his.

"If it isn't, it should be." he answered. "So um...take care of all that crap and I'll meet you in my office at 9. And get rid of the lab coat, only takes more time stripping you down."

"I have surgery at nine."

"Ten?"

"You have surgery at ten."

"Right, I knew that. I was just testing you...ya' know, checking how well you know my schedule." he smirked. "And you passed the test."

Hours later Addison walked out of the OR and began to scrub out. Mark finished his surgery seconds later and stepped into the room, also turning on the sink to scrub out. "So we're going home to pack right? Because the plane leaves at 11 and it's already 8 and we still have to pack...and I know you. You take life a separate suit case for everything. One fore make-up, one for shoes, one for pants, one for skirts and one for shirts."

"Exaggerate much?" she answered, turning of the sink and grabbing a towel to dry her hands. She threw it into the basket and grabbed a clean on for him.

The door opened, an intern poked his head in and cleared his throat. "Dr. Montgomery-Sloan, Dr. Burke needs to consult on a case. He says it's an emergency."

"Her shift is over." Mark replied defensively, not wanting to miss the flight.

"It's okay, Mark...I promise, I'll be quick." she answered, and walked out. Following the intern to pediatrics. Just outside the door he handed her a chart and walked away.

Addison flip the chart open absentmindedly. She usually always skipped over the name until right before she needed to use it in conversation. She looked over the more important details, her eyes fixed on the chart when she walked in. She didn't notice the eyes on her, she was still concentrated on the chart. "Addison?" she heard someone say and that's when she lifted her eyes to her parents standing by the bed and her heart stopped beating.

"Hi, Mommy." she heard a little girl whisper and shifted her gaze to that direction. Addison couldn't help but to give a small smile to the child, watching her alarmingly frail body rest against the white of the sheets of the bed. She had changed in the twos years since her parents last saw her, her sickness obviously being on of the biggest factors of this change.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I can't do this...I just... I can't." she struggled to mumbled the incoherent words before turning on her heel and walking out of the room. She down the hall she stopped, falling back against the wall, she let her back slide down until the ground prevented her from going any lower. She sat there, back pressed against the wall, legs hugged to her chest and let out a breath while dropping her head on her knees.

It was days like this that she wished she had a heart of stone. But she didn't, she was human and she knew her mistakes, she felt the guilt, she knew the sorrow and the concern. Her heart was defiantly not that of stone. It was glass, chipped and cracked at a few places but still holding up, but this...the impact this had on her shattered her heart into pieces so small it would be impossible to put back together...like glass, not stone.

* * *

I can't help myself, I wanted to update ASAP. Hope you guys like it. Let me know:D. I'm really dying to know everyone's thoughts.  
Oh and by the way thank you for all the commens on the last chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Addison?" Mark asked, seeing her sitting on the floor in the hall. He was used to seeing her life that, no one was. She would never break down in public, never take a minute to sit down and relax. She would just keep going and pretend like nothing ever happened. Seeing her do the opposite worried him, he went beside her and sat down next to her. "We're gonna miss the flight."

"They're here. Down the hall." she answered. "And I just walked in and walked out...god, I'm so fucked up."

"They're here? Why did you walk out?" he asked softly, looking over at the tears she was trying to fight back. He reached over to her and wiped it away for her, giving her a small smile when he heard her sniffle. "Stop crying, it'll be okay."

"I was shocked, they asked me consult. I didn't walk in there expecting to see my daughter and my parents. It was like...too much to handle in that second so I did what I thought was logical and I walked out. Now I feel stupid."

Mark nodded understandingly, "Don't feel stupid, babe. I would probably have done the same thing, you needed time to processes it before you could deal with it. It's understandable and you don't need to feel bad, okay?" he answered. "If you want to go back in there I'll be right behind you, you won't be alone."

"I do want to go in there." Addison answered, causing Mark to get up off the floor and hold his hand out to help her up. She reached out and took his hand to pull herself up. He led her back down the hall, turning into the room he remembered the inter mentioning.

They saw Stephanie crying and heard Bizzy saying, "Steph, stop crying, okay? Your mother is right here and she's got your Daddy with her too." that's all the child needed to hear to stop her crying. Her head was no longer buried in her hand, instead she looked at her parents with tear strained eyes. Just seeing them made her feel better than she had in a long time.

"I'm sorry I walked out. I just needed a second to process everything." Addison explained to the best of her ability, knowing that her parents could never understand how she feels and would judge her regardless of what she said.

"At least you had the decency to come back." her mother answered. "Or else you would have left this poor child crying all night. What are you even doing here, Addison. You're suppose to be in New York."

"We moved." Mark explained simply. "Derek got a job offer her and when Webber found out he was still in touch with us he made an offer that would be insane to refuse. Gave us everything we had been dreaming of when we started in medicine."

"You could have mentioned it when you came two years ago." the Captain answered.

"It happened after that, right after actually. And we haven't really spoken since then so..." Mark replied, looking over at his daughter who was staring at him curiously. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We wanted a second opinion and Preston Burke is one of the best and he's here so we decided to come and see what he had to say." Addison's father explained. "And he came in here and said that he had to talk to head of peds surgery to get her opinion on the matter. He said if she didn't think that the surgery was worth the risks than he wasn't going to do it. So we're waiting on that."

"Oh, um...that was me." Addison spoke up shyly. "I didn't know it was her when I came in. I thought I was consulting for a regular case...not my daughter I didn't know what I was here for."

"And now that you do know what happens?" Bizzy asked.

"I can't treat my own daughter."

"Well, maybe you can because you haven't really been enough of a mother to consider her your daughter. To her you're just another arrogant doctor with a god complex. So really...it makes no difference." her mother replied harshly.

"Bizzy." the Captain scolded, glaring at her. "She has a point. I haven't been much of a father to her or Archer but if they needed me to treat them I couldn't do it with. I wouldn't be able to focus knowing my child's fate is in my hands. So you can't push her."

"You are the reason we're here." Bizzy raised her tone, her eyes fixed on her husband with cold distance between them. "If you hadn't agreed to take her in than they'd have to be responsible for their own child."

"Or they would have given her to strangers and never had a second chance with her." he answered.

"Will you please stop yelling?" the little girl begged, looking at her from grandmother to her mother sadly. She hated the sound of yelling, arguing and fighting. Addison nodded and sat at the edge of the hospital bed, leaning in and touching her lips to her daughter's forehead for a kiss, something to show some form of affection and care.

"We're sorry, Steph. We got a little carried away." Addison said to her daughter. "And I'm sorry for walking out of here earlier, I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm kinda...actually, not kinda...I'm very very bad at being a mother. I'm really sorry about that."

"You think she's gonna forgive you with a sorry?" Bizzy asked spitefully. Addison looked toward her without saying anything, her glare said all that had to be said. "What? You think looking at me is gonna get me to shut up? I invented staring people down like that. You and I, Addison, we're more a like that you want to admit. If I could have dumped you and your brother off on someone...I would have."

"Oh, that's news." Addison answered sarcastically.

"I should have expected you to do the same. I couldn't expect you to be a better mother than I was. You learn from what you see. Raising your daughter gave me a chance to make it for everything I did wrong the first time, but it made you worse of a mother than I had ever been to you."

"What do you expect me to say?!" Addison raised her tone. "I don't know what the fuck to do, okay? I don't know how to take care of my own child, I don't know the first thing about being a mother. I wanted what was best for her and Mark and I are not the best for her. We're not meant to be parents, we're the two most fucked up people in on this planet. I did what I thought was best for my child."

"That, Addison., already makes you a better mother than you consider yourself to be." her fathered answered. "Now you're here, and you're child is right there in front of you. And this is the last chance you have to set things right. If you don't, you'll never forgive yourself. That I promise you.

"Do you know what's wrong with me, Mommy?" she asked, not caring that the 'grown ups' were in middle of having their own conversation. "They just keep telling me I'm sick but I don't know what that means? I've been sick before and I didn't have to come to a hospital...or stay here for a trillion nights."

"You don't know details?" Addison asked, trying to be as maternal and caring as she possibly could be.

Stephanie shook her head. "Will you tell me? Bizzy says you're a doctor too, that's why you're always really busy and don't have time. That means you know, right?"

"You have something called heart atrial septal defect, sweetheart." Addison answered softly, looking over at Mark who was staring back at her. She needed some assurance that telling their daughter the truth about her condition was the best thing for her. And that's exactly what he did, he motioned for her to go on and forced a small pain inflicting smile on his lips. "What that means is your heart has a little hole in it."

"A hole?" Stephanie's eye's got wider, her question interrupting her mother's explanation.

"Uh-huh. It's been there since you were born but no on noticed it. Usually it's not a big deal, it's actually pretty normal. The hole is usually small enough to close on it's own and heals all by it's self. But that isn't your case. In your case, the hole got a little bit bigger instead of smaller and now you're bleeding little by little into your lungs, making it harder for you to breathe. That hole makes it harder for your heart to pump. It's not getting enough blood and oxygen to the rest of your organs. You know when a doctor or a nurse comes in here and check your heart with a stethoscope?"

"Mhmm, they do it a trillion zillion times a day. I hate it." Stephanie answered with her brows furrowed together."It's always cold." she complained, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting her pale lips.

"I'm sure you do, baby. But they've got to do that to make sure it's not getting any worse, alright? They are listening to your heart to make sure it's still beating well enough to support your body until..." she explained as best she could until her daughter interrupted her.

"Until what?" she asked. Addison couldn't answer. "What if I don't get better, Mommy? I don't wanna here forever. Tell me the truth! Please... no one is telling me anything. Tell me the truth." the little girl begged, squeezing her mother's hand tightly.

"Addison." Bizzy yet again, vocalized her presence. She stood beside her granddaughter's bed, looking strictly into her daughter's tearing eyes. She didn't care what kind of emotional effect this had on Addison or Mark. Her concern was the child they'd abandoned, she wasn't about to hurt that child more than she'd already been hurt. "Don't you dare. You have no right at all to be doing any of this."

"She's our daughter." Mark answered. "We have every right to be here. All of her medical decisions are up to us."

"Really?" Bizzy scoffed, "You don't know one thing about her Medical history. You don't know if she's vaccinated or not, you don't know any of her aches or pains. You don't if she allergies or not... you call yourselves parents just because you have legal custody of a child?"

"Mommy." Stephanie whispered, grabbing Addison's arm to pull herself up and into her mother's arms. She settled herself against her chest, listening to her mother's steady heartbeat wondering if her's sounded any different because of her sickness. "Tell me what's gonna happen to me if I don't get better." she begged, feeling Addison's arm's wrap tightly around her.

"Get back in bed, Stephanie." Bizzy ordered, hoping to cut her daughter off.

Addison glanced at her mother then back down at the daughter she was holding in her arms. The truth hurt most of the time, that was reality. And she's lied to her daughter more than enough for one lifetime. "You'll die." she answered bluntly, feeling Stephanie's head press further down over her heart and the only thing she could do to comfort her was to hold her.

* * *

Don't forget to review...please ;)

Random side note: have tickets to see a taping of America's Best Dance Crew Tonight...and I uploaded instead of getting ready. Never seen the show, hoping it's good cause I don't want to waste time I could have spend fanfiction-ing.

Oh..and I just read that one of Derek's sister's is going to be on Private Practice for a case with Addison. Her name is Amelia Shepherd....Kinda kills the trillion stories I've written with an Addek daughter named Amelia.


	4. Chapter 4

Bizzy stood there watching Addison with her daughter. She always wanted her to come to her senses and take responsibility for the child but this wasn't the right reason. Stephanie didn't need her pity, she needed her parents to love her and support her. Not pity her. And all Bizzy could see was regret and pity radiating from Mark and Addison. She didn't want Stephanie to get her hopes up, believe that her parents finally cared if in reality there were there out of obligation. Every time they came to visit Stephanie would get elated, and every time after they left she'd be down in the slums in misery because she was back were she started. And this time she wasn't strong enough to handle it.

"Addison!" she bellowed. "You don't tell a six year old that she's dying!"

"I'm not going to lie to her. She wanted to know, she needed to know. She's our daughter, it's up to us whether or not she should know and we believe that she should." Addison answered only to have her mother grab her arm and pull her out of the room which meant there would be some serious yelling going on.

"Bizzy's mad." Stephanie whispered, looking at her father. "She's gonna punish Mom."

"I doubt she can punish your mother." Mark answered. "Don't worry about her, okay? She can defend herself, believe me."

"What happens after I die?" she asked innocently.

"I...um.. I...what?" Mark stuttered nervously. He cracked his knuckles nervously and stared down at his daughter. "Stephanie, you are not dying without a fight...and your mother and I are prepared to put up a hell of a fight. We will fight so hard that we'll have nothing left for ourselves and if you die..we'd be right there behind you. That's what we're willing to risk. So try not to think about it."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you willing to risk all that for me? Bizzy says you guys didn't want me, that's why you gave me to her. So why are you gonna...fight for me."

"Your grandmother really has a really big mouth on her, doesn't she?" Mark answered, looking out the window seeing Bizzy still holding onto Addison's arm tight enough to stop her circulation and lecturing her. Addison looked just about ready to snap, it was no secret that Addison had a short temper. She knew how to manage it at most times but when she snapped....it wasn't pretty. "Your mother and I weren't ready to be parents, Stephanie. I'm not going to lie to you. Alright? We were...young and busy, immature and stupid. We couldn't handle a baby between our senseless partying and our career. So we had to do what was best for you and that was letting Bizzy and the Captain raise you until we were ready... except that day never really came until now. We never took the time to slow down and remember everything we were missing out on. We never realized how priceless life is. That's why we're here now, trying to save something as priceless as you are to us, trying to save your life in one way or another."

"What does all of that mean? That I'm gonna live with you from now on?"

"You are not going anywhere with them." Bizzy answered firmly as she walked into the room. She looked to her son in saw and motioned toward the door." Your wife is waiting for you outside. I think she's just about ready to go home."

"They're leaving already?" Stephanie cried, trying to lunge forward to Mark when Bizzy caught her.

"We're not going anywhere." Mark promised. "Remember what I just told you, kid. I'm not lying about any of that. Everything will be fine." he assured before walking out. But he couldn't help but remember a time when his daughter's feelings and well being was the least of their concern. When they had the chance to bond but chose to do everything but.

* * *

~~~Flashback~~~

_The trip was meant to be a cheap vacation because Addison had decided she'd use money they'd set aside to expand her shoe collection rather than using it to pay to go on a vacation during the little off time they had through the year. If they were to go to some tropical resort to spend all day sitting by the pool than they'd do it in Addison standards, that meant a five star resort that would cost them 30 grand for two people to relax for a few days. The alternative was going to a resort like destination, the Montgomery Estate. They could spent all morning sleeping in sheets that maids would change for them daily, they could sit by the pool and not do anything all day long and they could take long walks and get lost at nights and it would cost them nothing. The choice was clear. _

_It was almost noon, Mark and Addison were still in bed, in the room Addison had spent most of her adolescence in. Expect now the only difference was she actually had a man sleeping in her bed with her...and her parents couldn't say anything about it. Mark was lying on his bare stomach, his face buried into his pillow and Addison was an inch away. She was on her back, her face turned him and he had his arm draped around her waist. They were both still in a coma like sleep with no intention to wake up anytime soon. After all, this was suppose to be a vacation and that was their definition of a perfect vacation. _

"_What time is it?" Bizzy asked her assistant, a woman slightly older than her daughter by the name of Susan. _

_"Almost noon." she answered, glancing at her watch for a second. _

_Bizzy shook her head slowly, the way a mother did when her child did something she disapproved. She looked at her granddaughter who was lying on the creme carpet trying to color in her coloring book without going over the lines and despite what people said, it wasn't easy. "Stephanie." she heard her grandmother say and instantly stopped what she was going to pay attention what she was being told. She knew Bizzy hated repeated herself. "Go upstairs and wake your lazy, good for nothing parents before they die from an overproduction of melatonin."_

_"Mela-what?" Stephanie asked, picking herself up onto her feet. _

"_Nothing." Bizzy answered. "Don't leave that room until they are out of the bed, understand me?"_

"_Yup!" she smiled, assuming this would be just like it was in the movies. She'd walk into her parents bedroom, jump into their bed and settle herself between them until they woke up. As soon as she got past the door into the room she realized this wouldn't be like that. There was no room between her parents, and they didn't look like they wanted to be bothered for anything. She decided that it would be easier to get through to her mother and went to that side of he bed. Steph nudged the arm her mother had extend over the empty space of the bed and it cause Addison to moan and move her arm. "Mommy." she whispered. _

_Mommy...that was the first time she'd used the word. She hadn't said it ever, at least not in specific reference to her own mother. And likewise it was the first time Addison was hearing in relation to herself. She wasn't used to it enough to wake up and respond to it, she could barely recognized the voice. The only way she knew for a fact that it was her daughter was because there was no other child in the house. "Leave me alone." she replied groggily, pulling the pillow Mark had his face buried in over her face to drown out the sunlight and sound. _

"_Bizzy sayed I have to wake you up. She sayed that mela-something is gonna kill you if you sleep any longer." the four year old reported, wishing she remembered the right word to impress her parents, the busy physicians. It would impress her grandfather, she knew that for sure and he was a doctor. If it impressed hm it had to impress her parents, enough to get her some form of attention. _

"_Go away!" Mark whined, pulling his pillow back from Addison. "And tell Bizzy to fuck herself." he added in a low, incoherent mumble. _

"_Will you please get up?" Stephanie begged. "Bizzy is gonna get mad at me if I can't get you guys up. And you're leaving tomorrow and we still haven't played together. I wanna play...house. And I wanna be the baby. And I wanna play hide and seek, and chutes and ladders and Candyland! Please."_

_"She was so much less annoying last time we saw her...back when she couldn't talk and give me a migraine." Mark complained. _

_Stephanie looked down sadly. She dragged one foot back and forth of the hardwood floor to keep herself from crying. "You don't have to play with me if you don't wanna. But will you just get out of bed so Bizzy doesn't get mad at me. She's saying really mean things."_

_Addison groaned painfully, pulling herself into a sitting position. Her hair was a mess and her make up as smear because she was to lazy remove it after a night of senseless partying and drinking. "Stephanie, look at me....do I look like I'm gonna tolerate you or Bizzy? Because I'm not. I have a hangover, my head is killing me and I need sleep. I don't need a four year old nagging me. I work over 70 hours a week, when I have a chance to sleep in I expect to do it without having a little kid wake me up." she replied harshly, obviously not sure what was the proper tone to use with a child. "Understand?" her voice became softer with the question. It wasn't something she did purposely. She didn't know how she was suppose to talk to a child in the circumstances they were in. _

_"Yes." the little girl whispered and turned around toward the door. She walked out without saying anything else. She dragged herself downstairs, making sure not to return to the room her grandmother as in. Instead Stephanie went into her playroom and picked up a photo album she had stolen from her uncle's old room. She sat in a corner on the floor and began flipping through it. The pages were filled with pictures from the eighties with Archer and Addison as kids doing typical childlike things. The further she flipped through the pages, the more recent the pictures got and she wasn't in a single one. _

_Meanwhile Addison fell back into the bed and Mark wrapped his arms around her again, keeping her close and warm. She sighed and pressed her back against his chest. "Did you see that look on her face?" she asked sadly. "She was heartbroken, we did that... we made our kid cry."_

_"But she was so cute." Mark answered. "That's kinda of because of us...we're hot hot people and we passed that on to her. That's one thing she'll love us for later." _

_"You think the look of pure devastation, sorrow and heartbreak is cute?"_

* * *

"What did your mother tell you?" Mark asked in the middle of the night. He knew for a fact that Addison wasn't asleep. There was little things she did in her sleep that he would never fail to notice. Like the way she's always somehow end up in the middle of the bed after being knocked out for an hour, or her hands would always be buried under her pillow. Tonight she was at the very edge of the bed, her arm hanging over the side. He could hear her sob occasionally.

Addison however assumed Mark as asleep, that's why she was doing everything she could not to wake him. But when she heard his voice she turned on her side to face him and sighed a breath of relief. "You're up?"

"Haven't been able to sleep knowing something is bothering you, knowing our daughter is fatally ill. What did she say to you?"

"Nothing." Addison asked, looking down to see his hand link with hers. He fiddled with her wedding rings and slowly moved closer to her. He always complained about her tendency to wake up in the middle of the bed but in all honesty, he loved it. He couldn't sleep until she got to the middle of the bed because he needed her as close as possible before he could drift away. It was reassuring to know she was right there, an inch away.

"She didn't say anything, that's why we left the hospital with you crying?"

"We were gonna leave with me crying regardless." Addison answered. "It wasn't exactly a situation to walk out of there with a smile on my face. Why do you assume I was crying because of my mother?"

"Okay, fine. If you weren't crying about her than why were you crying?" he asked.

She didn't answer him for a few seconds, instead she stared blankly at him. Finally she whispered, "Maybe I was crying because of her."

"Right. I knew that, I just needed you to admit it for yourself. Now do you wanna tell me what I don't know? Because I'm very curious as to what she said to make Addison Sloan cry. You're not exactly easy to break... it takes serious harshness to bring tears to your eyes... well that and dying children."

"Our dying child more specifically."

"Will you stop saying that. I want us to remain positive. If we give up on her than...what the hell is the point of her life in the first place? We should just inject her with euthanasia and kill her right now if you're gonna lose hope."

"I'm not losing hope, Mark. I am being realistic."

"Well don't be realistic until we talk to the doctor tomorrow. Burke recommenced a pediatric cardiologist who he says is better qualified than him. He made us an appointment to see the guy privately, so your parents won't be there to bother us. Right now, you could be unrealistic. Do whatever it takes to put your mind at ease and give you a few hours of sleep."

"What would I do without you?"

"You'd walk around being realistic all the time." Mark answered and moved onto her side of the bed. He spooned his body with hers and propped himself on his elbow to give her a kiss, hearing her sigh as he did. He settled back down into bed and draped his arm over her, securing her tightly where she belonged, in his arms. "Everything will be okay." he promised, repeating the same words he had said to his daughter. The problem was that he didn't even believe himself.

* * *

Review!...please :)

fanfiction was being retarded while I was trying to upload. It tortured me. I had to proof read like 7 times because it wouldn't save my correction...and I have a feeling even after reading it a million times I still missed a few mistakes. Sorry about that. If you notice mistakes let me know so i can fix them. Oh, and don't forget to tell me your opinion.


	5. Chapter 5

It was wierd being in a doctor's office and sitting on the opposite side of the desk. It was weird being the one asking the questions instead of being the one to answer them. And to tell you the truth, being on the other side was a lot easier. There is no personal feeling, there is no heartache, no doubts about your future and no guilt about your past. It was easier on the other side.

Addison sat in a chair with her legs crossed, her hand in Mark's who was in the chair beside her. It wasn't meant to be a romantic sentiment, it was simply because they were both afraid and they needed to physically feel that the other one was right next to them. Mark's had his gaurd up still up, his palm pressing against Addison's wrist and he could somehow feel her pulse racing. But then again, he understood why. This meeting, this conversation would indicate the course of the rest of their lives. It would determine their daughter's future, if she was to have one that is.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sloan." the doctor greeted professionally. His voice sounded cold and distant. Both Mark and Addison found themselves with the same thought, did they sound he same when talking to a patient? Cold and uncaring, like they really could care less. Was every doctor like that and it never came to their attention before or was it this one in particular that was like that? He was an older man, balding obviously. There was no question that he had been in the game long enough to be arrogant and self praising. "I'm Dr. Miller. You want to discuss your daughter I'm assuming."

"Yes." Addison answered. "We do."

"Your daughter has atrial septal defect. Which means that her heart isn't--" he spoke as if he was talking to little children.

"We know what it means! We've been to medical school, you don't need to treat us like we're inferior to you." Mark cut him off and set the record straight. "We need to know our options in her case. Here exact condition. How bad it is..."

"In that case, _Dr. _Sloan, your daughter's condition is very serious. Her heart is weakening by the day, pumping less and less blood by the day. Her organs are barely getting enough blood and oxygen to suffice now, with time as the flow decreases she will go into multi system organ failure. Her kidney will shut down, her liver, spleen...everything will follow. Her lungs will collapse and her heart will stop without air."

"And how much time do we have before that happens?" Mark asked.

"There is really no specific number I could tell you. She might have a week left in her...maybe two. If she stays in the hospital that is. If she was to go and lead a normal active life we're talking a matter of day, at most the week."

"And if we were to chose to attempt to correct this surgically what would be her chances of survival?" he asked.

"The risks are high, Dr. Sloan. I can't tell you that I know for a fact that she'll be alright. This surgery comes with risk, it's open heart surgery and she's a young child. I have plenty of practice but something are beyond my control. This surgery could save but it could kill her. If you don't do it, you're daughter will die. If you do choose to do it she might die."

"Let's say she survives this, would she be alright after that? Will she have a normal life?"

"Yes, after recovery time and healing she will be fine. By the end of the year you'll have a perfectly healthy child, like nothing was ever wrong with decision is yours and you have to make it right now because we can't wait any longer if we're to try and correct it."

Husband and wife glanced at each other. Word less sentiments were exchanged by the simple glass, they let their eyes do all the talking and reached the final agreement within a split second.

"We'll take the chances." Mark spoke up. "She might have two weeks left to die in a hospital bed, thats not a life worth living. It's torture. So if this can save her, no matter how slight the chances, it's worth a try."

"But Dr. Sloan consider this...is the risk worth losing a daughter you never really knew?" the doctor asked. "You can have a few more days to hold her and love her. Let's say this surgery happens today you lose her...that's it. You can't hold her anymore."

"It's harder to accept the loss of the a child after spending every waking minute holding her, loving her, promising her that her pain will soon be gone and praying that it's all a dream and that in reality we'll wake up and she'll be just fine. It's easier knowing we're putting her through this risk so she can come out alive and we can hold her and promise her our love for the rest of her long life." Addison answered.

"You got all that from one another just by looking at each other for half a second?"

"We're telepathic." Mark answered sarcastically. "Our communicational skills are none of your business! Go book an OR, do something productive!"

* * *

"You did come back!" Stephanie squealed happily the second her parents entered her room after their meeting with her doctor. The Captain was sitting in the corner reading a medical journal. It was typical of him, he was always there physically but mentally he was somewhere else. Bizzy was sitting far from her grand daughter, almost across the room. She was focused on the TV until her granddaughter's voice interrupted her concentration.

"You are not suppose to be here.." she said, almost defensively.

Addison ignored her mother, acting as if she wasn't even in the room. She went toward her daughter and sat at the edge of the bed. Mark was inches away from her, standing beside them and completing a little circle. "We spoke to your doctor, Steph." Mark told her. "And we decided on treatment for you."

"Treatment?" Stephanie asked, repeating the word as if it was the first time she had ever heard it. "What do you mean?"

"Daddy and I want you to get better, sweetheart. We decided that you are going to have surgery to fix what's wrong with your heart. And it needs to happen as soon as possible so someone should be on their way to take you into pre-op right now."

"What's pre-op?" she asked curiously, staring at her parents curious to know why they were so impelled to use words she did not understand.

"They're going to take you over to the surgical floor and check over you and when they are ready they'll take you in to the OR, where they'll put you to sleep for a little while and start the surgery."

"What's surgery?"

Both Mark and Addison looked over at her parents. The Captain had his magazine folded in his lap, watching them in amusement. "Don't look at me." he laughed, "You're the ones who decided this, you're the ones who decided that her ever question needs to be addressed so you can be the ones to address it. Tell her how they're going to cut into her chest, separate her ribs so they could dig at her heart."

Stephanie's eyes widened as she stared at her parents in horror. "No!" she exclaimed as loudly as she could and jumped up in terror into Addison's arms. She had been patient with the needles but cutting into her was were she drew the line. "No, no, no, no, no." she went on to whisper

"Stephanie.."Addison began while placing her back in bed.

"No!" she yelled before anyone could say anything else. "No one is gonna cut into me. You can't let that happen. You promised that you won't let anything happen to me!"

"Steph, you need to calm down." Mark spoke firmly, helping her settle back underneath her blanket. "Mommy and I decided this because we don't want anything to happen to you. You're going to be asleep, you won't feel anything. And when you wake up, hopefully you'll be all better. And we'll be here the second you wake up, we promise, okay?"

Stephanie easily noticed the love in Mark's eyes and the sincerity in his tone. She may have only been six but for the first time at that second she felt the love a child would have from her father. She felt like she wasn't being lied to for once, that this time her parents really were going to be there for her. "Okay." she agreed.

* * *

Bizzy and the Captain were seated in the waiting from across from Mark whose eyes followed Addison as she paced back and forth. No on had said anything since Stephanie had gone into surgery, it was just a cold silence between all of them. They couldn't even make eye contact with one another. They were just trapped in an awkward silence while they waited to hear the fate of a little girl who manage to change every single one of their lives.

"If something happens to her...it's on you two." Bizzy warned. Addison rolled her eyes in response.

Mark glanced at his wife briefly before clearing his throat and responding, "Actually she was going to die regardless. She'd have a few more days suffering in this hospital then she'd day. And you're right, this could kill her. But we're talking a matter of days. Or this could save her and give her a long healthy life." his eyes still followed Addison who couldn't stand still in one location. He got up and took a few steps to her, grabbing her wrist to prevent her from moving anymore.

"Mark." she attempted to complain and pull away unsuccessfully.

"Ad, I know you're worried. But try to calm down, please. This is equally hard on both of us but seeing you like this makes it worse for me."

"How much longer?" she asked impatiently, looking at the Cartier watch on her wrist.

"They just got started like 30 minutes ago, babe." Mark answered, taking her wrist gently to check the time. He kept his arms around her waist from behind as he did so. "Why don't you come sit with me?" he asked.

She agreed with a sign, sitting as close to him as possible without being on top of him. She needed the comfort of knowing he was there with her. Mark slipped his arm around her and when he heard his wife sniffle he pressed his lips to her hair and kissed her lovingly.

"Must you two be so touchy feely?" Bizzy asked, disgusted by their behavior and their relationship in general. "That's what got you here in the first place, you're horny irresponsible lifestyle. You don't need anymore children to ignore."

"Don't listen to her, Ad." Mark whispered to Addison, who's head of now on his shoulder, in turn his head was resting on hers. And both happy knowing the other is there. "We did what was best for our daughter, Addison. That's what a parent is suppose to do, that's what we did."

"We are the only ones that see that way." Addison returned in a hushed tone. "Everyone else sees me a slut who couldn't keep her legs together and ended up pregnant only to neglect her kid. And can we say they're wrong?"

"Yes, I can say that they are wrong. Because sluts sleep with anything that moves. You are married, we happen to enjoy making love. That is defiantly not a sin. You are the furthest thing from a slut..in fact the opposite." he assured. "And our daughter was the product of our love, except we weren't ready to deal with our responsibilities. So instead doing something that would hurt her we did what was best for her."

"I seriously love you, Mark. I don't know what I would do without you."

"And you're never going to find out because I'm never leaving your side." Mark promised.

Bizzy and the Captain could hear faint murmuring but not distinctly enough to make out what they were saying. They could see Mark holding their daughter, reassuring them with a soothing whisper and a tight grip on her hand. Every now and they'd see him kiss her gently to show his love. They were both staring at the couple across the room, their son-in-law with their daughter. They both looked content, there was comfort between them, there was love and passion. It was simple, it was pure and it was understandable.

"We underestimated him." the Captain mumbled. "He turned out to be the best thing to ever happen to her. He didn't marry her for money or sex. He married her because he loves and her cares about her."

"He makes me sick....they both make me sick." Bizzy answered, turning away from the site.

* * *

Is story starting to bore people? Cause if it's just getting worse and worse than let me know so I can fix it.  
I really wanna know what everyone thinks of this so please review...I'm literally begging here.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mark, Addison." Burke started, his hands on his hips. It was the stance every doctor used when delivering not so pleasant news. They had used it themselves enough to know exactly what it meant. "I was in the OR with Dr. Miller, I wanted to observe. He's still in there, he's um...he's doing damage control."

"Damage control?" Mark, Addison and the Captain asked at once., being as all of them knew all too well what that meant.

"What's damage control?" Bizzy found herself asking. It was killing her to know she was the most uninformed person there. She couldn't act superior for the first time in her life because for the first time she was below everyone. She had no knowledge in medicine, barely any knowledge in general health. It was the biggest weakness anyone in the family could have.

"It means they couldn't keep her stable during the procedure so they are going to stabilize her, leave her open until she's strong enough to go on with the rest of the surgery." Burke explained as simply as he could with layman terms so that the woman in front of him would understand.

"But if they wait too long she could contact an infection and die." the Captain went on, knowing Burke would leave out the more unappealing details. "And if they take her back in too soon, before her body is ready to go on...she will die."

"Right. Your daughter once explained it to be like a balancing act." Burke mentioned. "It makes more sense to people that way. There is a balance between too soon and too late. We are hoping we can find that balance and take her back in to finish this surgery at exactly the right time."

"What are her chances at this point?" it was the one question on everyone's mind but Bizzy was the first to think it out loud, although she didn't even realize it.

"I'm not sure I can say, Mrs. Montgomery." Preston answered. He turned to Mark and Addison who were standing there silently since the news had been delivered. "You two can go and see her. She could be in the PICU soon. Just be aware that it's not exactly the most appealing sight for a parents."

"He's right." the Captain looked at his daughter and her husband. After seeing the way Mark was with Addison he wanted things to work to out for them. He was no longer on 'team Bizzy', he was for 'team Maddison'. He wanted to be there for him because it was his responsibility. "You've seen it before as surgeons, but as parents it will not look the same. It wouldn't just be a patient, it will be your daughter, lying with her insides exposed."

Burke nodded in agreement, looking over at the couple while both were looking in different, none relevant directions.

The silence snapped Mark out of his trance. He wrapped one arm around his wife's waist and extended the other toward Burke. "Thanks, Preston." he replied. "We just need a few minutes to process this. We'll be there in a little while."

"Take your time." he answered and walked away, leaving the family to deal by themselves.

Addison exhaled a breath she had been holding in. She glanced at Mark sadly, batting her still dry lashes to fight away the tears threatening her eyes. Mark had his eyes fixed on her. He knew there were both thinking the same things. He reached out and wiped away the single tear that managed to escape her fight to withhold her crying.

"Are you two happy now?"Bizzy blared, a scolding eye cast on the couple. "Are you proud of your decision now? Now that she's as good as dead. Is this what you wanted? To get rid of her so that you don't have to deal with her."

"Will you just shut up?" Addison screamed.

"Don't you dare start with your attitude, Addison. Don't you dare!" Bizzy warned.

"Shut up! Stop telling me what to do. I'm tired of hearing your voice. Shut the fuck up so I can hear myself think!"

"Okay.." Mark dragged out the word slowly. "Addie, we are going to leave this room before you two try to kill one another." he said, pulling her out of the room by her arm.

* * *

She stood outside in the hall with a death grip on Mark's arm, as if it was her method of releasing all the tension. He pulled his arm out of her grasp, rubbing the spot painfully. Addison started biting her lower lip nervously. "My mother is right, isn't she?" she ask cautiously. "Did we subconsciously make this decision because we knew it would be easier for us know we 'tried' to do something to help her? We eased our pain, not hers."

"You're mother is never right." Mark answered. "About anything. Except when she admits she was wrong, which she never does so she's never right."

"I'm tempted to punch someone right now and you are standing so temptingly in front of me. Either shut up or watch out."

"You would never punch me. You'd never punch anyone. You might break a nail and god knows we don't want that." he replied with a smirk, an attempt to put a smile on her face. It should be noted that it was a failed attempted which was followed by a fist crashing into her cheek, causing his jaw to make a cracking sound. His eyes shut to blind away the temporary pain from the very weak punch. "You are such a girl!"

"Well...if I wasn't a girl you'd have a pretty big problem, don't you think?" she answered, the smirk now growing on her own lips.

"Is it out of your system?"

"Yeah, I didn't break a nail and my engagement ring made an imprint on your face. Defiantly out of my system."

* * *

Addison stood in her daughter's ICU room, standing as far away from the bed as she could. The doctor in her knew that her fear was unrealistic. She was afraid that if she went too closer to her daughter, if she touched her than she would accidently kill her. Any doctor would know that was an irrational fear but at that second she as nothing more than a mother and she wasn't going to take the risk. Mark was standing beside her pretending to be supportive when really he was suffering from the same fear.

They had been standing in the exact same position for over an hour in complete silence. Almost as if they were afraid that their voices would even have the capability to damage their daughter's condition. Addison turned her head to Mark and looked up slightly to catch his eye. "You wanna go home?" she asked.

He looked at her dumbfounded. "Um..okay. I didn't think you'd wanna leave but if you want to than..Yeah, sure."

"No, Mark. I meant, do _you _want to go home. You look tired and I don't want you to torture yourself to stay awake just to be here with me." she explained.

"I'm not leaving you here alone with your mother."

"I won't be alone with her. My father is here too, remember?"

"He left." Mark informed regretfully. "He called the university and tried to get time off, used the whole family emergency card and all that but they wouldn't give it to him. They said if he wasn't back in time for his class in the morning that he'd fire his ass."

"Great." she replied sarcastically.

"So I'm not leaving you alone to deal with this by yourself no matter how tired I am." Mark answered. He was about to go on with his statement when he was interrupted by a loud high pitched piercing noise which cause both of them to jump. Before either one knew it there was a team of nurses and doctors running into the room and within seconds the bed containing the child was gone.

"What just happened?" Addison asked, walking toward the spot where the bed used to be.

Mark stood still, he rubbed his eyes forcefully and then looked around the room again with the feeling he had imagined what had happened. But as soon as he opened his eyes he knew it was real. He walked forward and grabbed Addison's wrist, pulling her out of the room toward the nurse's station.

"Where the fuck did you guys take our daughter?" he demanded.

One of the nurse's looked up at him, she was young, obviously new. "I um, I'm not sure what you're talking about Dr. Sloan." she asked, sounding more than just intimidated. She looked over at one of her superiors, hoping to be bailed out of the situation.

"Is there something you needed, doctors?" the older woman asked, looking at them.

Addison raised her brow, somehow managing to hold back her temptation to slap both nurses. Mark on the other looked infuriated. If the urge to break out into physical violence came be would not be able to manage it.

"Yes, there is something we needed actually." Addison answered, keeping herself as calm as she could. "Our daughter, Stephanie has been in here for like..10 hours. We've been with her. And we're not sure what happen but like 20 people came into the room and she was gone in a matter of seconds. So we're just very, very curious to know where she went and what happen to her."

"Oh...I didn't realize that Stephanie was your daughter, Dr. Montgomery-Sloan. She um..." the woman hesitated. "Okay, look, I'm gonna be honest with you. She took a turn for the worst, and they are trying to do everything they can to help her but...with surgery nothing is guaranteed, you know that."

"So you're telling me that our daughter is dead?" Mark asked, unsure if he was feeling the rage build up or if it was dying down and being replaced with a sense of guilt and failure.

"No... I'm just letting you guys know that you should prepare yourselves for what could happen." she answered. "I've been an ICU nurse longer than you two have been alive. I've seen situations like this many times. Sometimes they make it, you can hope for that miracle. But more times than not it doesn't work out as well as we'd like."

"Addison?" she turned when she heard her name being called and saw her mother standing a few feet away. Bizzy's arms were crossed and she looked as if she'd been crying but did everything she could to hide the fact. No one would have notice, not one other than Addison that is. She'd seen it enough times during her childhood to know when her mother had secretly let down her guard. "I heard what happen." she said cautiously, knowing that she and her daughter we not on the best terms at that very second and she didn't want to push her limits.

"Will you please....just don't start right now." Addison pleaded, her voice sounding almost as if she was begging. "I'm really not in the mood, nor an I physically or mentally strong enough to deal with you right now. But I'll tell you what you want to hear. You were right."

"What are you talking about?" Mark asked, "Remember what I told you? Your mother's never right."

"She was right about this." she answered. "If we hadn't taken this risk we'd still have time to make things right with our daughter. We rushed her into surgery before we could connect with her..understand her."

Bizzy cut her off before she could go on any further. "No, Addison...Mick is right. I'm never right about anything."

"Mark." he corrected with a scornful glance in her direction.

"Whatever, Mark, Mick. Same thing. Point is, he's right. She's is your daughter and you did what you thought was best. You want this to work out. You didn't intend for it not to."

"But we knew there are a very high chance that it wouldn't. And we took the risk anyway. Now, she's in surgery again before she was ready for it because if they didn't take her back in she would die. But since they took her back in too soon she could still die."

"Addison, honey... I've never sugar coated anything for you and I'm not going to start now." Bizzy spoke. "You can't change the situation you are in. Right now you're not a doctor, you don't know the simplest thing about medicine. Right now you're a mother and you're afraid."

"What's your point?" Addison asked, a little agitated by the speech.

"My point is..this fear is what you will learn from. You won't be an arrogant doctor anymore, you'll knew exactly what your patients and their families feel. You won't be an absent parent anymore. You'll understand the value of having what you gave up." she continued. "You need to go into that waiting room, sit there with your husband and think about the best and the worst. You need to be afraid together."

"Who cares what kind of doctors we are?" Mark shot back in fury, at that point he wasn't sure what he was more upset over, the fact that he didn't know what was going on with her daughter or the fact that he was randomly being lectured by a woman he hated. "Do you think our careers matter? After today our careers will never be the same again."

"Exactly." Bizzy replied. "If she lives than this will have showed you that the most important thing is not your career, it's your daughter. You will never take a patient over her again, you will understand what the priorities in life really are."

"What if she does die?" Addison asked, lost in a world of her own in her own thoughts that would never makes sense to anyone else.

"What if she lives?" the woman replied, watching the confused look in her daughter's eyes become brighter instead of dimmer.

* * *

What did you guys think?  
Review and let me know...please *insert pouty face here*


	7. Chapter 7

Hours had gone by since Stephanie had been rushed into surgery. No one had been out to update them on what was going on. After the first hour Addison made a mental note to send an intern out every hour to update the family the next time she was in surgery. She didn't want anyone to sit and wait as anxiously as she and her husband had been. By the third hour she fell asleep on Mark's shoulder after being too lost in thought to fight the slumber. Bizzy was sitting across them, looking discreetly at her daughter.

"She can't be comfortable like that, Mark. Do either of you have an office she could lie down in or maybe an on-call room."

"No, she'll kill me if she's not here the second someone comes out to talk to us." Mark answered. "Besides, she may be asleep but her mind is running at a 100 miles an hour. She won't be comfortable no matter where she is."

Bizzy nodded in agreement and backed off the subject, readjusting her gaze back at the door the surgeon would emerge from. Mark subconsciously held his wife closer to himself to keep her warm. She moaned softly in her sleep and nudged her head against his neck.

Another two hours went by before someone came out of the swinging doors separating the common area from where all the action happened. It was Stephanie's surgeon wearing an expressionless face as he came toward them. Mark felt his heart drop while he gently rubbed his wife's arm with his cold hand. Her eyes opened as soon as he came into contact with her. She stood up upon realizing Dr. Miller was right there in front of her, Mark followed her action nervously. He looked into the man's eyes trying to see if he could get what he wanted to know out of them...but he couldn't. The man redefined a pokerface.

Seeing Mark and Addison frozen in place, Bizzy stepped forward. "Dr. Miller." she began her inquiry. "Despite what you might think, we don't enjoy this agony. Tell us what you came out here to tell us." she demanded.

"Of course, Ms. Montgomery. As you know, Stephanie was not tolerating the condition she was in. We needed to do something right away if there was any chance at saving her. We had to do this... we needed to get her back into surgery if we wanted her to have a chance."

"And?" Mark asked impatiently. His heart was beating so fast that he thought everyone could hear it. He needed to know whether or not his daughter was alive.

"And..." he paused, drawing in a breath which only added to the agony. "And she is made it through. She's been out of surgery for a little while but I wanted to wait until she was coming out of anesthesia. I wanted to make sure she was okay so that I wouldn't give you false hope."

"So she's awake and she's alright?" Addison asked, wanting to be certain that she was hearing correctly and that her mind was not playing tricks on her.

"Well...she's not fully awake. She's still a little groggy, coming in and out of it. And she isn't 'alright' right now, she's doing well, she's stable and she should be perfect after a few weeks ok recovery." Dr. Miller answered, a small smile on his lips. "She's being transferred from post-op to peds so you should be able to see her a little while. Do you have any other questions?"

"No. I think that about covers everything." Mark answered, a look of relief washing over him. He shook the surgeon's hand and thanked him before allowing the man to leave. Then he turned to Addison and chuckled, obviously having had the world lifted off his shoulders. "She's okay...she survived this." he said as if he didn't believe it.

"So I've heard." she replied barely loud enough for anyone else to hear her. But Mark, being that he's been with her longer than he could remember, heard her. He always heard her.

"So apparently we did end up making the right choice." he added.

"Maybe we did.." she answered, stepping closer to him and pressed her lips softly to his.

* * *

"Is she awake yet?" Addison asked impatiently as soon as she walked through the door to her daughter's room. She had spend the last few hours in surgery and the only thing on her mind was her daughter. She kept thinking that Stephanie would wake up and she wouldn't be there at that second even though she had promised she would.

"No." Mark answered. "But we have to keep in mind that she'd 6, Ads. It takes a lot of anesthesia to sedate a person for like...20 hours. It might be a while before she wakes up." Someone obviously had a lot of time to think, but then again what else was there to do when you're trapped in a room with an unconscience child and a psychotic mother-in-law.

"I know." she mumbled in disappointment. That was the rational way of looking at it the only problem was that she didn't feel like being rational.

"Do you have to get back to work or will you be staying with us and taking on responsibly for your child?" Bizzy asked in a tone that sounded like the question could be sarcastic meant to mock Addison.

"And the bitch is back." Addison answered, leaning against the wall due to the lack of chairs. She crossed her arms and looked turned her head to her mother. "Is it like a pill you take that makes you all better for an hour and when it wears off you're back to you're usual self?" she asked, the sarcasm in her voice was hardly unnoticeable.

"There's a pill like that?!" Mark's eyes widened. "Like by prescription or OTC cause you might need one every now and again."

She turned to him, glaring into his eyes. "Shut up."

"Like right now it would do you a hell of a lot of good." he pointed out.

Just as she was about to say something the sound of stirring stopped her. She was almost sure no one else had noticed it because neither Mark nor her mother had reacted. She on the other hand could swear she heard a soft moan escape her daughter's lips. When the child moved slightly she knew she was right. Stephanie was finally waking up after fighting the battle of her life (and ironically, for her life) all in her sleep.

The second Stephanie opened her eyes she saw Addison sitting at the edge of her bed holding her hand. "Hey Steph." she began softly, her voice in a near whisper. "Don't try to talk, honey. Just squeeze my hand if you can hear me and understand me."

Stephanie looked down at their joined hands before gripping her mother's finger tightly, wondering why she couldn't talk. Feeling the grasp, Addison let out a laugh of relief before leaning in to give her daughter a kiss. Mark stayed frozen in his seat, still doubting whether she was really okay or if he was imagining it.

"Steph, you just had surgery, honey. They put a tube in your throat to help you breathe." Addison explained. Stephanie pulled her hand away from her mother and reached for her mouth with wide eyes. Addison held her hand back to restrain her. "No, Steph, it's not there anymore. But most people have a hard time talking until their throat heals. I don't want you to hurt yourself, okay?"

Stephanie nodded, looking around the room until her eyes locked with Mark's. He was standing right beside her, waiting until she came to before he hounded her with affection. After looking at her for a few seconds he leaned over and took her into his arms, minding the fact that she was in a fragile state meaning he couldn't hold her as tightly as he wanted to.

"You feeling okay?" he asked as he pulled away and brushed a few strands of hair away from her eyes. She nodded again, being as there was nothing else she could do. "Good. You had us worried, Steph. I had never been that scared, nervous or worried in my life."

Bizzy watched from a distance. She wanted to go closer and show her relief, after all she had practically raised Stephanie. Seeing her struggle like she had wash harder than she made apparent. Knowing the child was alright meant more to her than anything else. But Stephanie now had parents to coddle her. She was no longer needed to take on the nurturing role. Her second chance at motherhood was up. As much pain as that brought, it still meant happiness. It meant that the two most unlikely people had finally taken responsibility.

Bizzy stepped to the door, unnoticed. The two adults in the room were too busy with their child to notice her. She stood outside the door for a little bit longer, looking in and feeling a sense of happiness and sorrow both at the same time. Finally she brought herself to leave the hospital, trusting that her granddaughter's parents would be able to manage until she was ready to return.

* * *

The next morning Bizzy walked into the hospital room early in the morning. She saw Addison in bed with Stephanie asleep, snuggled against her chest. She, on the other hand was wide awake, watching the sun come up through the window.

"Addison?" she whispered, trying to capture her daughter's attention. Addison turned to the door. Bizzy smiled, seeing how content her daughter appeared. "It's almost scary how much she looks like you did when you were her age."

Addison returned the smile. "She was terrified at night. They wanted to check her incision and draw some blood but she was terrified. She cried for hours. She didn't want anyone to touch her."

"Well, she's been through a lot. Who could blame her." Bizzy answered. "She's afraid of needles...doctors. They're all starting to get to her. I'd assume it's normal in children her age."

"Yeah but the thing is....I'm usually the one they are afraid of, not the one who comforts them. I'm not sure I even know how to comfort a child."

"But in this case, you're not her doctor. You're her mother. And by the looks of it, you did an excellent job comforting her. I don't think I've ever seen her as confident, relaxed or happy as she is when she's around you. You don't need to do anything to comfort her, you just need to be next to her."

"I need you to take her back to Connecticut with you." Addison whispered hoarsely, as if the request was killing her. She looked up into her mother's eyes and with tears starting to build up in her own. She didn't know what to say or how to explain herself. The words she had already utter had taken all the courage she had in her, saying anymore was asking for more than she could hand.

"What? Why? You...you've been acting so maternal and caring and you wanna get rid of her now?" Bizzy exclaimed, obviously lost in the situation. She didn't understand her daughter's request, she didn't know how to react to it. Bizzy wasn't sure if she should slap Addison for being so selffish or if she wanted to contain herself for the sake of the child and do as she was asked.

"Shut up! Stop screaming. You're gonna wake her." Addison replied in a hushed tone, seeing her daughter nudge her head further into her chest. "Asking you to do this isn't easy, Bizzy. I just...I can't explain myself."

"She got attached to you, Addison. She depends on you, she needs you. You're her mother! You want me to take her back to Connecticut?She thinks of Mark as a god, you want me to take that from her. You want me to take away the life she's been dreaming for her entire life?" she paused for a second, needing time to come to terms with the request that Addison presented.

There was no way she could refuse, where would that leave Stephanie? The fact that this was a situation again was tearing her apart. But her main concern was for Staphanie. Her newly fixed heart was not strong enough to handle the blow. As soon as she found out, her little heart would break, tear right in the middle. No surgery would ever be able to fix it. And they would all be right back where they all started.

* * *

The updates are starting to get later and later...that's cause my Senioritis is kicking into high gear. At this point I'm too lazy to breathe. Oh, and Spring Break is next week. I get a 10 days off to do a whole lot more of nothing! I'm so excited.  
Btw, if my limitless laziness is affecting my work, let me know.  
Spare me of my boredom and review...please. Yes, as sad as it might be, reading reviews relieves boredom.


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as she was discharged, Stephanie was taken back to Connecticut. She fell asleep in the car after being told she was going "home." The definition of the word was obviously never specifically stated. The private jet carried her back across the country before she had a chance to wake up and discover what was going on.

Sometime in the middle of the night she woke up screaming, unsure of where she was. She knew for a fact she was no longer at the hospital. There was no random machine beeping beside her. The room was dark and quiet, nothing was visible to help her identify her location. She began screaming in hopes of being rescued by her parents. However, instead of her parents in came Bizzy with the Captain.

"Stephanie, stop screaming." she directed, turning on a dim light and walked closer to the bed. It was the middle of the night, barely 4 am. After spending a few hectic days in the hospital Bizzy was tired. She needed sleep. So she stood there tiredly hoping to take care of the problem quickly so she could go back to sleep.

The bed was large enough for the child to get lost in. It was fit for the princess every little girl thought they were. It was the Montgomery mansion, just as Stephanie had feared. "No! Where is my dad? I want my Daddy." she cried.

"He's not here, you're parents are not here, Stephanie. You know that."

"So it was a dream?" she asked, looking up with an ocean of confusion in her blue-green eyes. "All of that was a dream?"

"All of what?" Bizzy questioned.

"I was sick so we went to Seattle for my surgery and Mommy and Daddy were there. I saw them! And they were with me the whole time. My dad promised that they would never leave me."

"Oh, Steph...that wasn't a dream, honey. That really did happen. We just got back from Seattle a few hours ago." Bizzy informed.

"But my dad promised he would never leave me." she repeated, letting the tears flow from her eyes.

* * *

"That child is miserable." Susan pointed out to Bizzy, the Captain who was mixing himself a martini glared at her with spite. Ever since he had discovered the secret he had also discovered that he no longer liked Susan. But than again, who could blame him. Not too many men are fond of their wives lesbian partners.

"It's none of your business." he replied dismissively

Bizzy turn to him with a gaze that she'd perfected throughout their marriage. She would look at him and he would know that he should shut up before she begins hounding him. "She cares about Stephanie just as much as we do. If she wants to talk to us about her than we could at least listen."

The Captain rolled his eyes and swallowed the contents of his martini glass in one gulp before setting the glass down. "Fine. She's miserable." he agreed. "What about it? What do you suggest we do with her?"

"I don't know. I'm just saying...incase the two of you hadn't noticed." Susan answered. "I just saw her. She's in her room dialing random numbers on the phone hoping she can get in touch with her parents. I think the last call she made was to somewhere in Japan cuz the guy who answered was screaming at her in Japanese."

"How do you know it wasn't Chinese? Do you understand either of the two to decipher between them?" the Captain retorted.

"Why can't you just call Mark or Addison and let her talk to them?" Susan asked, looking over at Bizzy who was sitting down with her legs crossed and a martini glass in her hand. She looked at her Susan, who didn't understand the look as well as the Captain did. "I'm serious." she presisted, which confirmed that she definatly did not know that that specific look meant that she needed to shut up.

"Because..." Bizzy answered. "You know what, I think the Captain was right... don't get involved."

He smiled with gratification, nodding his approval of his wife's final words. "Most educated thing you've ever said, darling."

"I'm gonna go deal with her. You two can stay here and work out your differences." Bizzy suggested, setting her glass down on the table before she got up to leave. She went toward the grand stair case in the foyer.

"Our difference? Simple. She has sex with my wife...and I don't." the Captain called out after her.

Bizzy ignored him and continued going up the stairs of the multi-million dollar mansion. She went into the one room that was decorated to suit a child. The walls were painted with actual colors instead of the demure whites and beiges of the rest of the house. Stephanie was sitting at her little vanity table with a phone in her hand, she was working on dialing another set of numbers, who would answer the call was beyond her.

"What are you doing, Stephanie?" Bizzy asked, the little girl jumped not realizing that she wasn't alone in the room.

"I'm calling Mommy and Daddy." she answered simply.

"Are you sure about that?"

Stephanie looked up. She shook her head. "Other people keep answering!" she complained, hating to admit her failure. She hoped that she would have somehow connected with her parents enough to be able to guess their number, not realizing that something like that would be less than likely.

"Steph..." Bizzy began patiently. "They didn't forget you, honey. I'm sure they both miss you like crazy. They never left your side while we were there, you really mean the world to them. But you can't call them whenever you feel like it. They are busy, Stephanie. They have a lot on their plate. You have to understand that." Bizzy tried to explain. "They are trying to do what's best for you. They want you to have everything."

"I don't want everything!" Stephanie exclaimed. "I only want them!"

* * *

"Are you ever going to get out of bed?" Mark asked. She hadn't gotten out of bed that morning, she refused to go to work. She spend the whole day in bed doing nothing. In fact, if you asked Mark, she didn't even look like she had changed position. "Because staying in bed and staring at walls does not make anything any better."

"I feel like a failure." she responded, pulling back the blanket so he could get into bed beside her. On any other occasion, she wouldn't even let him near the bed in clothes that he wore in a germ surrounded hospital. She wouldn't let him in bed without a shower to 'disinfect' him. It was no secret that she was a little obsessive when it came to cleanliness. But today she didn't care. She wanted someone next to her to fill the emptiness. He raised a brow curiously, looking at the empty spot beside her. He quickly shed his jacket and threw it on the ground. She sat up, staring at the jacket. "Okay, I may be letting you get into bed in dirty clothes, without a shower but there is no way in the name of hell can that jacket it staying there. I can't think straight knowing it's there."

"You are..." he began, getting off the bed and picking up his jacket. He turned back to her, thinking about his next works carefully. "Insane." he finally chose, deciding it was the safest and most fitting word. After hanging up his Emperio Armani leather jacket up in his closet, he got back into bed.

"Yeah." she agreed after a few seconds of silence. "I am insane. I'm insane and stupid and I can't do anything right."

"Okay..." Mark propped himself up on his elbows and look at her lying beside him. "I know we've been married all this time and all but I still can't understand how you think. So what happen? Were you watching another one of those self-destructive Lifetime movies where the lady never does anything and wastes her life and then kills herself after finding out she's pregnant or something like that?"

"No, I was not watching Lifetime. And if that was your way of asking me if I think I'm pregnant than that's a 'No' too." she answered. "I just feel so empty, Mark. I feel like I have nothing. It's like I woke up this morning with no purpose. What the hell is the purpose of life if I have nothing to live for?"

Mark faked a gasp, holding his hand over his heart with a fake hurt expression. "Am I not enough to live for?" he asked with a sly smile, not realizing that he was making her feel more guilty than she was until he saw the expression on her face. "Okay umm...bad choice of words. But Addison, your life is not pointless. You've got an amazing career, there is a waiting list to get on the waiting list to get an appointment with you. You knew that right? Because that's kind of noteworthy. And you have me, I need you. Chances are I would die without you."

"That's not enough." she replied in a whisper. She didn't want to seem ungreatful or selffish but nothing she had was what she wanted. She wanted what she couldn't have, that had always been the greatest flaw.

"Are you sure?"

"I need more, Mark." she answered. "I need more."

"What more do you need, Addison? That's more than a lot of people can ask for. Hell...that's more than anyone can ask for. That's everything anyone could want. What else could you possibly want?"

"I want my daughter." she whispered. "I want her here with me, Mark. That's what I want! That's all I want. You could take away everything else. The career, the 25 million, the waiting list to get on a waiting list...the everything. I don't care about the rest as long as I have her."

* * *

I know this was shorter than most of the other chapters. Sorry about that. But everything relevant is in there. If I added stuff just for the sake of making it longer than I would be redundant and pointless...I hate reading the same thing over and over again so I'd assume most other people do too.  
Next chapter is the last chapter btw. It's already written out and I'd like to think that most of you will like it. But if you had specific ideas you can let me know and I'll try to add it in.  
On a completely separate note...Glad you guys likes "The Concept of Unconditional Love" I meant for it to be a one shot. If I can think of somewhere to take it than I'll add another chapter. If you had an idea for the next chapter than let me know. I didn't think I'd get such a great response so I wasn't prepared for it.  
Anyway, Review!


	9. Chapter 9

"Dr. Sloan." A young nurse called out. Mark looked up from the file he was looking. He was already out of scrubs, obviously more than ready to leave for home but he was still there waiting eagerly. He saw the woman holding his daughter's hand. Stephanie had a shy smile on her face, as if she was afraid of being sent back or rejected. Mark shut the chart and set it aside, coming around the desk to greet her.

"Stephanie!" he dragged out her name happily, holding his arms open for her. She looked up at the nurse who smiled at her, giving her an encouraging nudge forward which caused her to run forward and collapse in her fathers arms. He lifted her off the ground in a tight embrace.

"Hi, Daddy." she squealed in the midst of his tight embrace. It was followed by a fit of giggling until she was set down on the group happily. "Where's Mom?" she asked curiously, looking around the halls for her.

"She's not at work today, baby. She hasn't been feeling well since you left. She doesn't even know you were coming today. So we're gonna surprise her, okay? She's missed you like crazy, she'll love it. So when we get home, we gotta be super quiet. Got it?"

Stephanie nodded, smiling at her father and giving him a thumbs up. "Got it." she confirmed, gripping his hand tightly on their way to the car. He buckled her into the back seat of his Bentley, securing her safely in place with her back pack next to her. All of the rest of her stuff was suppose to be shipped in, meaning it would arrive over the next few day. He drove carefully for the first time in his life and every few second he would check on her through the rear view mirror, seeing her excitement grow with each glance.

When they got home, they both tip toed up the stairs into the bedroom. Like Mark expected, Addison was still in bed. She had spend yet another day in bed. Their child was hidden behind him as he stood in the door. He cleared his throat to capture her attention.

"It's barely 9 and you're already in bed?" he asked casually.

"I'm not in the mood to talk." she answered, turning her back to him.

"I have a surprise for you." he replied. She turned back and raised her brow. "It's not too big but I have a feeling you'll really enjoy it."

"Mark, I'm not in the mood and I hate surprises. Just tell me what it is or leave me alone."

"Guess." he prompted

"Mark!" Addison sat up and yelled in frustration only to hear a muffled giggle from behind her husband. "Oh my god." she whispered, her eyes lit up and suddenly her depression had fade away. Mark stepped aside revealing a blonde little girl with a smile on her face. She ran past her father and jumped up onto the bed and into her mother's arms.

"Daddy told me that you're sick." Stephanie said sympathetically.

"I'm feeling a lot better now, sweetheart." Addison assured. "Wanna know a secret?"

"Uh-huh!" she pulled out of her mother's arms to look into her eyes with excitement and anxiousness.

"You were the only one who could make feel better."

* * *

The next morning Mark woke up with a foot pushing against hist Adam's apple and the another digging into his underarm, making him feel as if his shoulder was about to pop out of place. Stephanie had somehow managed to flip over in her sleep. Her head was resting on Addison's leg with her legs were flung over Mark. She shifted suddenly, kicking her foot into Addison's stomach. Her eyes flew open when she felt a burst of pain and her hand moved over her mouth with hopes that it would prevent her from throwing up. She'd been nauseous all night and being kick right in the stomach was not the best feeling at that second.

"My leg is numb and now I feel like I need to throw up." she complained.

"I told you you're gonna get kicked." Mark laughed, sitting up in bed trying to formulate a plan to turn her back without waking her. As soon as he slipped his arms beneath her to adjust her body, Stephanie woke up and looked up into her father's eyes strangely.

"What are you doing?" she asked, pulling herself out of his arms so she could sit up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the room wondering why she was sleeping with her head on her mother's leg.

"Were you doing karate in your sleep?" Mark asked sarcastically.

"You're the one who made me sleep here!" Stephanie shot back and turned over, laying her head on the edge of her mother's pillow. "Hi." she whispered groggily, snuggling against the warm body as close as she could. She pressed her face into her mother's chest, longing to feel the maternal love she'd lacked for years but Addison only groaned painfully.

Addison pulled slightly out of the tight embrace. "Honey, Mommy's not feeling very well. I'm very close to throwing up and squeezing me and kicking my stomach is not helping."

Stephanie backed away toward her father, now settling herself in her father's arms. "If you're gonna throw up remember to turn the other way." she reminded her mother, not wanting to be lying a bed of vomit.

"I think she's got that covered..." Mark assured, placing a kiss over her blond hair.

* * *

"Which one is she?" Stephanie asked, pressing her head against the glass.

"Ummm..." Mark wondered how to explain. "Okay, see that random hat? The one that's not green but it's not blue and it's got like..waves on it. That's your mommy."

"The one pulling out that baby?" she asked.

"Yup." Mark answered. "That's her."

"Why's it the baby all bloody, Daddy? And how did it get in that lady?"

"That's a story for another day, sweetheart." Mark answered. "And when the day comes, ask your mother...not me. She's far more qualified." he pawned off with a smirk.

"But what's she doing?"

"That baby were a stuck in their mommy and they were not getting enough oxygen. So your mother needed to take him out so he could breathe on his own and get the oxygen he needs. Get it?"

"So Mommy saves babies?"

"Yes."

"And you fix faces?"

"And various other body parts that you don't need to worry about."

Stephanie raised her brow and looked at her father than back down at her mother who was placing one of the babies in the patient's arms. "I wanna be like Mommy." she declared in a whisper, almost memorized by the image of her mother at work. She turned back to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No offense."

Mark laughed, placing a kiss over her baby shampoo scented hair. "None taken, Steph. I get it. You're your mother's little girl and you wanna grow up to be just like her."

"You're not mad?" she asked, a guilty expression still on his face.

"No. I could never be made at you." he promised. "Come on, your mom looks just about done and I think we should meet her right outside the scrub room to tell her about you're decision." he swung her over his shoulder and carried her toward the scrub room while she kicked his chest and giggled. He adjusted her back onto his hip and leaned against the door way was Addison emerged from the door out into the hallway.

"Mommy!" Stephanie screamed at first site and jumped from her father's arms to her mother's. Addison just barely managed to catch her in time.

"Wow, have you been injecting sugar directly into her veins?" Addison asked sarcastically.

"Been feeding her sugar and injecting her with coffee." Mark replied.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." she answered, giving him a small smile as she placed the child on the ground.

"I saw you take the baby out, Mommy!" Stephanie began rambling. "It was so cool! But...how did they get in there? How do you know they're in there? What if you cut them open and no one is inside?"

"Steph...I don't see someone on the street, take my chances and slice them open. There are signs that suggest pregnancy and then there are tests to prove it. And only in some case do I need to cut them out."

"Signs?" Stephanie asked curiously. "What signs?"

"Um...like the chick needs to throw up randomly, and her um...boobs get a little bigger, they're moody and tired like all the time and they're late." Mark answered.

"Late for what?"

"Everything." Mark answered after a second's pause. She was too young to burden her mind with the truth, and he was too lazy to be the one to go into extreme detail.

"Like Mommy?" Stephanie asked, looking from her father to her mother who's jaw dropped.

"What?" both her parents asked.

"Mommy has been throwing up randomly since after my surgery. And I think her boobs are bigger cause they're softer when I sleep on her chest while we're waiting for you to finish work, and she always says I'm hurting her. And ummm Mommy is always moody, one second she's smiling and laughing and the next she's screaming. She's always tired and she's always late for stuff! I'm never on time to school cause of her."

Mark glanced at Addison. "Your child is more observant than you are." he commented. "And a better obstetrician might I add."

"I am not..." Addison began to say

"Yes you are!" he argued before she could finished. "The kid is right! Wow...I'm writing an article about this for the New England Journal of Medicine. And I'm calling it 'World Renowned Obstetrician Misses Own Pregnancy. Who Tells Her? Her 6 Year Old Child."

Stephanie tugged on her father's pant leg and he looked down at her, giving her the attention she was seeking. "Am I right?" she asked.

"Yes, Stephanie. You're right." he confirmed. "And we are going to go buy sticks and make your mother pee on them."

"Why? There are sticks outside...Why does she have to pee on them? Why can't she pee in a toilet like regular people?"

"We have to stop answering every question this child asks." Addison mumbled. "She's too curious for our own good."

"If she hadn't asked you wouldn't realize you're pregnant."

"I'm not pregnant." she argued stubbornly.

"And I'm not the most attractive man that ever stepped foot on this planet." Mark scoffed sarcastically, he smiled at her with what she could consider to be the most gorgeous smile she had ever seen. To say that it didn't melt her heart would be a lie on her part. Maybe he really was the hottest person she'd ever come across, but there was no way in hell that she'd let him know that. His ego was already to big to be considered tolerable.

"You're not! You're not even the most attractive man to step foot in this hospital." Addison replied, bursting his bubble and cause of his smile to disappear. He looked at her with a straight face for a few seconds, looking into her eyes and reading her as if she was an open book. Before long his lips curled up into a smile again, the same cocky smirk that he knew his wife loved.

"I am gorgeous and you know it." he answered. "You're just too stubborn to admit it, just like you're too stubborn to admit that you're pregnant."

* * *

In the words of Porky the Pig (from looney toons) "That's All Forks."  
Hope you guys like the last chapter. I love Mark's arragonce and ego at the end. It's just so....Mark like.  
Would love to know your thoughts on the final chapter...and the story in general.  
Review! and thanks for reading.


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